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Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Subsidy fraud: EFCC withdraws charges against four

Charges of fraud in the fuel subsidy payments against four
suspects have been withdrawn by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC). Those whose charges were withdrawn are Durosola Omogbenigun and Peter
Mba along with their firms.

Counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Oyedepo Rotimi, told a Lagos High
Court in Igbosere that the charge tagged,ID/122C/2012, was mistakenly instituted against Omogbenigun, his company
Integrated Resources Limited, and Mba and hisPinnacle Oil and Gas firm.

The EFCC had alleged that they conspired on different
occasions to fraudulently collect over N2bn from the Federal Government under
the Petroleum Support Fund, purporting the money to be payments for importing
certain liters of petrol.

The four were charged with four counts of conspiracy to obtain
and obtaining property by false pretences. The anti-graft body said the
offences were contrary to Section 8and
1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006. However,
Mr. Oyedepo Rotimi said he was instructed by the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, to withdraw the case. According
to Rotimi, the EFCC found out after a review that the suspects did not commit
the offence for which they were to be arraigned.

Justice Samuel Candide-Johnson struck out the charge
following an application by the EFCC.